An Italian gray sandstone bust of the Madonna, attributed to Giovanni Caccini (1559-1613) late 16th century

Probably made for a niche in a private chapel, this intimate depiction of the Madonna as both serene and demure is characteristic of Caccini's sculptures, particluarly his female figures.

The head of his St. Agnes circa 1603 in the Strozzi Chapel, Santa Trinità in Florence (Venturi, op. cit., p. 806, fig. 676),  a head of a woman in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Pope-Hennessy, op. cit., no. 511) and the bust of the Virgin made for the cloister of the Florentine convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Pratesi, vol. II, op. cit., no. 46) all share extremely similar characteristics with the present piece including the facial types, hair and drapery style. The heavily lidded, slightly open eyes, the full mouth, the wavy, parted hair and the eyebrows gently inclined toward the temples are comparable. The wrinkled appearance of the drapery here is also similar to that of Caccini's figure of Fame on the Ponte di Santa Trinità, Florence.

Caccini's figures demonstrate a more personal approach to the stylistic canons of Florentine sculpture in the late 16^th century. He chose elegant and tranquil depictions and rejected the drama and extremes of Mannerism popularized by Giambologna. A fine marble bust of Christ the Redeemer, circa 1594 by Caccini now in the Rijskmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. BK-2000-8) further reveals an interest in depicting his figures as serene or even introspective.

Giovanni Caccini was both a sculptor and an architect and probably moved from Rome to Florence in 1575 and spent much of his early career restoring Antique statues for the Medici. He worked under Giovanni Antonio Dosio and Giambologna and had his own workshop by the early 1590s. His dominance as a marble sculptor in Florence at this time was secured when his principal rival in this medium, Pietro Francavilla, moved to Paris during the first years of the 17^th century. Among his most important achievements are the sculptures in the Carnescecchi Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome (circa 1584) and the Strozzi Chapel in Santa Trinità, two figures on the Ponte Santa Trinità, and the ciborium for the high altar of Santa Spirito (1590).

While the known sculptures by Caccini are in marble, this sensitively carved stone bust has all of the hallmarks of Caccini's innovative and graceful style, both dependent upon and alternative to that of Giambologna.

RELATED LITERATURE

A. Venturi, Storia dell-Arte Italiana , rept. 1983, X/iii, pp. 792–816
J. Pope-Hennessy, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, vols.I and II, London, 1964, vol. I p. 306, vol. II p. 483
G. Pratesi (cur.), Repertorio della Scultura Fiorentina del Seicento e Settecento, vol. II nos. 45-47
A. Brook, 'Giovanni Battista Caccini' in Grove Art Online , 2007-2010